Abstract
The gender pay gap is a symptom of the pervasive inequalities inherent in modern society. Among doctors, the gap has been increasing. The Gender Pay Gap in Medicine Review is exploring the scale of the problem and the reasons behind it. Although motherhood and flexible working both contribute to the salary discrepancy, the aetiology is complex and multifactorial, with important roles played by recruitment and representation of women at senior levels, as well as gender occupational segregation. Addressing the root causes of gender inequalities and shining a light on the pay gap data are both required in order to one day close the gap.
TopBackground
The gender pay gap is the difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women (Topping & Barr, 2018). It is pervasive across different disciplines, and medicine is no exception. It is also not a new phenomenon. Women’s work has been assigned a lower value than men’s work throughout history (Griffin, 2018). This has allowed men to excel in their professional lives, while encouraging women to take on the greater share of domestic work.
The pay gap has persisted despite the Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equality Act 2010, which enshrined in law the entitlement for men and women to be paid equally for work of equal value. The UK currently ranks 20th in gender equality on the list of nations by the World Economic Forum (Chapman, 2017).
The Gender Pay Gap in Medicine Review
In July 2016, then-Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt commissioned an independent report into the gender pay gap in medicine chaired by Professor Jane Dacre, which included an analysis of lifetime gender pay differences and the gender pensions gap (Medical Women’s Federation, 2018b). The research – the largest examination of gender pay data conducted in the public sector – is led by Carol Woodhams at the University of Surrey (Medical Women’s Federation, 2019; Rimmer, 2018). The approach to analysing the pay gap included performing quantitative analysis of existing data, circulating workforce surveys, and using mathematical modelling to determine the size of the overall gender pay gap and break it down into individual components. Interim results were published in early 2019, and the final report and recommendations are due to be published in September 2019 (Department of Health and Social Care, 2019).
The founding principle of the NHS is to treat everyone equally, yet women employed in the health service are still experiencing inequality. (Health Minister Stephen Hammond, 2019)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Invisible Labour: The expectation that women should bear a larger share of the burden of caring and home responsibilities.
Glass Ceiling: An invisible barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.
Occupational Feminisation: The increase in the proportion of women in a previously male-dominated field.
Gender Pay Gap: The difference between the average hourly earnings of men and women.
Unconscious Bias: Learned stereotypes that are automatic, unintentional, and that influence behaviour and attitudes towards groups of people.
Gender Occupational Segregation: The distribution of workers across and within occupations, based upon demographic characteristics, most often gender.
Motherhood Penalty: The systematic disadvantages experienced by working mothers.